Why didn't you people buy it?
Although few people realized it, the 2018 Audi A4 was available with a six-speed manual in place of the more common seven-speed dual-clutch. Along with the BMW 3 Series and the upcoming Genesis G70, the Audi A4 was one of the only cars in this segment to offer the ability to row your own gears. Unfortunately, Audi has recently updated the A4 for the 2019 model year and among other changes, it will lose its manual transmission option.
Car and Driver reports that only 5% of customers in the US opted for the manual, which is why Audi decided to stop offering it. This is a shame because the manual A4 was actually a tenth of a second quicker to 60 mph at 5.1 seconds. Manuals are typically slower than dual-clutches, but the A4 managed to be quicker and likely more engaging than its automatic counterpart. Now drivers will lose the engaging feel of driving a manual as well as a tenth off their 0-60 times.
The only way to buy a manual A4 now is to find a leftover 2018 model sitting on a lot. Audi, fortunately, did not lock the manual transmission to the base trim level as some automakers do, so finding one may not be impossible - you may even score a discount. With the A4 manual now dead, Audi no longer sells a single manual vehicle in the US. This is a sad day as another automaker abandons the manual. Aston Martin has vowed to be the last company to offer a manual in its lineup, and it just got one step closer to fulfilling that promise.
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